


the outstretched blue sky above

by Picup



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Granblue Fantasy AU, the other characters play a part but not as important as third years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 15:58:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15754992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Picup/pseuds/Picup
Summary: A story set within the Granblue Fantasy universe.-----"We should go together.  One day."In a world full of magic and monsters, everyone dreams at least once of traveling the world.  But when Dia puts her mind to it, she will make it happen.  The tale of her journey getting to that point and the event that happens after that pushes her to a greater destiny for the future.





	the outstretched blue sky above

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yukitsune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yukitsune/gifts).



> I lost a bet during the Aqours Sky High!! event in the mobile game, Granblue Fantasy and I'm here to pay it off. A Dia/Mari set within GBF that was suppose to involve the Unite and Fight event, or what is commonly called Guild Wars (GW). I am sorry for the horrible lore and magic inaccuracies I literally had no idea how to write it (maybe I should've watched the GBF anime oops).
> 
> There's also mentions and hints at other pairings because my mind works in odd ways.

In a world full of monsters and magic, stories of people who travel the skies is told to children all over as a bed time story.  These stories inspire them to seek the world outside their homes.

This particular tale starts on Auguste Isles, an island covered mostly in water.

 

"Dia!  I want you to meet someone!"

At the sound of her father's voice, Dia's ears perk up a little and the small flame that she has hovering just above the red fan she wields immediately disappears.  She had just finished her afternoon physical training and was well into her magic training.  It was astonishing that a young girl of her age was already practicing such dangerous acts but with no actual military on Auguste, they rely on hired hands to help.  However, her father did not believe in such things and made it his own philosophy to teach his two daughters the art of self-defense. 

She snaps her fan shut and gets to her feet, brushing off any specks of dirt or dust that was on her dress.  Slipping on the pair of sandals she took off at the beginning of her training, she makes her way around the Kurosawa household to the front where she heard her voice being called.

"Yes Father?" She does her best to hide her annoyance, her father knows that she is always about her studies first so being interrupted bothers her.  Besides, he was supposed to be meeting with a client for the day.  When her eyes meet her father's, his face is brimming in joy, and he slowly gestures towards a small girl that she finally notices by his side.  Dia can't help but tilt her head in a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

By her father's side is a small girl around her height with curled blonde hair that sits just past her shoulders and a small tuft coming out from her left side.  Her eyes are bright, almost shining.  When they meet, a nervous smile crosses her face and she timidly waves to Dia.

Dia is unsure of how to act and just looks at her Father questioningly instead.

"This is Ohara Mari.  I've told you about the various of inns that reside in all parts of Mizarea, correct?  Her Father helped open all of them.  He has a knack for doing such things."

Dia slowly nods. Mizarea, also known as Aqua City, was a huge city to the north-west of their village.  It was the capital of Auguste Isles and brought in tons of different people from all over.  Her Father worked with many businesses in Mizarea, so she went to the capital from time to time.

She notices the small blonde by her father’s side puff up her chest in pride at the mention of her father—it was as if her father's accomplishments were like her own.  She can't help but crack a small smile and swallow the giggle that wants to escape her lips—what a weird girl.

"He is currently looking to expand outside of Auguste but at the moment is focusing on a new inn on the island where the Matsuura's live.  Kanan has already met her."  At the familiar name of her friend, Dia immediately looks at the girl again.

Mari takes this as her chance to introduce herself properly.  She steps forward with newfound confidence.  "It's nice to meet you!  I hope we can be friends."

In response, Dia politely bows as she’s been taught, "My name is Kurosawa Dia, I hope we can get along." She straightens her back, giving the girl a small smile.  The fact that the girl was already friends with Kanan meant that they probably can be good friends.

"... Hey, why don't you give me a hug?"

The blonde suddenly asks, opening her arms up to Dia, grinning from ear to ear.  Confusion quickly sets in on Dia, her nose scrunching up, didn’t they just meet?

"... Why?"

 

* * *

 

 As odd as Dia’s and Mari's first meeting was (Dia soon finds out it's because of Kanan that Mari asked her for a hug), the two of them become good friends.  Dia, Mari, and Kanan always spent a lot of time together--more so Dia and Mari because their fathers were business (and drinking) partners, while Kanan sometimes was off with some other children in the village.

A typical day for the three of them would be spending their afternoons talking about various of things around their homes, exploring the fields and rivers near the Kurosawa household or bothering Dia during her magic practice.  Dia was especially proud of being able to wield magic at such a young age and always made it a point to spend at least an hour each afternoon doing so.  If Mari and Kanan finished their own morning routine early, they would always come to watch Dia.

Unfortunately for Dia, they tend to distract her.

"Wow Mari!  I didn't know you could bend dark magic like that!"

" _Yes_!  It's very cool!"

Dia's concentration wavers and she feels a slight disturbance near her.  She waves off the gathering flame in the air before turning to Mari and Kanan with a sigh.  "Mari-san, Kanan-san, what have I said--"

"Dia, Dia look!"

Her green eyes wearily glance at the dark sphere that is crackling with energy in Mari's palm.  She's drawn to the sheer strength that was pulsing from the dark sphere and she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.  It was her first time seeing dark magic first hand but from stories she's heard from her parents and other straggling skyfarers (those who travel the skies), dark magic was somewhat _special_.  Fire, wind, water, and earth are the most common elements among those who wield and use magic, but light and dark are known to be an “oddity” per say.

This especially applies to dark magic because of the negative whispers that surround it.  Since, more often than not, people will always chase this element in search of strength and power.

To see it here, just pulsing and dancing in the palm of one of her best friends was... special, in a way, but it still made her jealous.  Mari always seemed to be the lucky one.

"... Dia?"

Mari asked, noticing Dia's prolonged silence and the stare at the magic in her hands.  She crushes the dark sphere easily and the particles evaporate into the air as Dia suddenly jumps.  It was brief, but Mari could see the hints of jealousy in her eyes.  She feels sullen, she didn't mean to bring that emotion to Dia.  "S-Sorry, I won't do it again."

"W-Wait, I'm sure she wasn't hurt by it!"  Kanan is quick to try and resolve the tension around them, looking between her two friends.  Dia does a quick follow-up, shaking her hand as she trudges over to the two, properly sitting herself down.  She bows her head a little.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't know what overcame me.  I was just... surprised."   She chooses her words carefully, masking and pushing away whatever remained of how she was previously.  Kanan and Mari know her better than that, but she just needs a moment.  Mari doesn't seem to notice though, as she scratches her cheek sheepishly.  "Didn't know I could use magic?"

"Nn... You never told us!" Dia protests weakly.  All this time, she thought she was the only magic user in their small group, seeing as Kanan never had a huge aptitude towards the elements.  Mari laughs shortly, waving her hand, "It just... kind of happened.  My parents were surprised too when I flipped one of the statues over by accident."

Mari laughs again, Kanan joining after but Dia can't help but gawk a little--dark magic was a lot more powerful than she thought.  The attention is directed back at her, as Mari smirks in a way that sometimes riled up Dia.  "Better watch out, Dia, I'm going to replace you as the mage in our group and you'll be stuck with you and your flimsy arrows!"

Dia reels a little, "Is that a _challenge_ , Ohara?!"

"Heheh, it's about time we _fired_ up the competition between us!"

Kanan sighs as she watches her two friends have an intense stare down.  Her cheeks puff out a little as she rests her head in between the palm of her hands.  "Oh sure, leave me on the front lines while you two do some weird magic stuff behind me."

She yelps as two fingers pokes her puffed out cheeks.  Mari and Dia are grinning at her.

"We are counting on you to guard us from the front."

"Our lives are in your hands, Kanan."

As they outline her role, she just laughs and leans forward, stretching her arms out to bring them into a group hug.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

 

* * *

 

Dia's father believed in not letting his children be sheltered and exposing them to as much as the world as possible.  That's why when Dia grew older, she often went on business trips outside of the village with him.  Sometimes, they were just all-day meetings and checkups in Mizarea, but sometimes they would take an airship to the other islands, specifically Port Breeze, where all sorts of skyfarers met and did business.  It was one of the busiest, if not, the busiest ports in the entire world.  Dia was grateful of these experiences, it allowed her to learn more about... just about everything and anything.

What really caught her eye was when she watched a group of girls training together outside of Port Breeze.  Their formations... were astonishing.  It was the only way Dia could put it into words.  The way they covered each other, combined their attacks together... It was like a dance.  Of course, the more reasonable side of her brain tried to deduct if it was practical in actual combat, but it was still fascinating to watch their movements.

She imagined that her, Kanan, and Mari could do this easily and when she got back to Auguste Isles, she was eager to pitch the idea to them.  They are both rather easy-going, so they agreed to go along with Dia’s idea.  They started to do their usual studies and exercises as a group rather than at home.

Of course, not everything is as easy as it seems.

The sound of a large thud is lost to the air as Kanan lands on the ground after being flipped over and nearly singed for the _nth_ time that week.  The first time it happened, Mari and Dia came rushing over to her to make sure she was okay... but now unfortunately, they were all used to it.

" _Mari-san_ your timing was off again!"

"You're too _slow_ , Dia!"

Including the argument that slowly ensues after.

Dia cannot believe that they keep having this same problem.  Even though she could do it easily on her own—when she had to consider another person, problems start to surface quickly.  She’s quick to jump onto Mari—the problem stemming from her this time.  Mari is just as stubborn as she is and isn’t willing to relent.

"Maybe if you didn't spend so long casting your fire magic then we could do this successfully!"

" _I_ cast at the most optimal times, _you_ just don't know how to control _yourself_!"

Dia is ready to show Mari how fast she could cast her fire magic.  Kanan steps in before they could continue, "Hey, hey, we don't need to fight--"

Dia and Mari drop their argument quickly, reeling on Kanan who is innocently just trying to help.

"And Kanan--"

"--you need to understand your spacing better!"

Dead silence hits all three of them, and they realize that they started arguing again.  Recognizing their small arguments and blame over nothing, they all grow silent and sigh heavily.  "... We're not good at this, are we?"

Dia stays quiet but agrees with Mari with a slight nod.  Sensing the hostility from her two friends quiet, Kanan reaches out, patting both their shoulders.  "It's not going to be, but we just can’t give up here, right?"

"Of course!"

"... Of course.  However, _Matsuura Kanan_ , that does not exempt you from this.  Your timing _needs_ adjustment too. "

Kanan can’t escape from her observant eyes.

 

* * *

 

It took a few more times and a handful of days until their small group started to come together.  It was small details that they seemed to pick up about each other and how to work around it--like how Mari was always extremely quick to cast or shoot with her pistol but her accuracy was always the slightest bit off, so Kanan adjusted how she would step if Mari were to back her up or attack in front and with Dia's pinpoint accuracy, her own arrows or fire would be able to cover the ground that Mari's attacks didn't. 

Dia on the other hand, because of her meticulous accuracy was always a second behind, so Mari adjusted her own timing speed to match Dia's if Dia were to start and Kanan knew the timing of when to move. 

With Kanan, she has extremely quickly reflexes, so Mari nor Dia didn't need to worry about hitting her, but they knew since Kanan always looked forward, they would cover her from behind.

After practicing a few times on any straggling monster around the village, Dia decides to test their formations with a one-day excursion to the Tzannis Plateau, a highland area north-east of their village.

The hike wasn't very good for Dia though as they climbed higher and higher up the ragged cliffs and high hills.  On top of the exhausting hike, they ran into a few pesky water sprites along the way.  As alluring as they were (and for some odd reason always tried to get their hands on Kanan first), the trios’ effective formations and knowledge of how they fought made quick work of them.  Unfortunately for Dia, her fire magic was at a disadvantage most, if not all the time in these scenarios which irked her to no end.  She didn't want to slow Mari nor Kanan down.

"Dia?"

At her name being called, she glances up, wiping her sweat that was building up on her brow with a quick swipe of her sleeve.  Kanan seemingly went on ahead to scout the area for any monsters and Mari stayed back to wait for her.  She swallows quickly, placing a hand up to tell Mari to give her a moment as she hunches slightly over to catch her breath.  She hears some shuffling, and suddenly there's an arm around her shoulder.

This makes Dia jump a little and she stares at the blonde that is suddenly by her side in disbelief.  Mari just winks, placing a finger against her lips to quiet any protest from her mouth.  "Just take a minute and let me help you.  We have to rely on each other sometimes, right?"

Dia is hesitant but slumps a little into her hold.  "... Mm.  Thank you." It's barely above a whisper but Mari hears it as clear as the water by the Baruha Beach.  She hauls both her and Dia up a little as they climb the high hill together in silence, simply enjoying the cool breeze and the quiet area around them.

When they get past the hill, they see Kanan near the edge of the cliff, glancing at the caverns and swamp below.  She turns around and sees the both of them, waving and calling them over.  Dia and Mari separate, sparing a small, appreciative smile before joining Kanan at the edge.

"Looks like we can camp just below tonight.  I saw some pretty dark clouds rolling in from the distance, so a big storm is probably going to roll in for the night."  Kanan gazes behind them, seeing the same dark clouds she described before just above the horizon.

"Lovely, more water."  Dia's sarcasm is surprising, but not unwelcomed as Mari and Kanan just laugh.  Kanan slaps her shoulder playfully, "Don't complain, we _live_ on the island that's mostly covered in water."

They take a short break at the peak, discussing everything that they have seen and encountered along the way while eating a quick meal.

 

* * *

 

Luckily the storm holds out until the early evening, giving the girls some time to set up their camp in the cave that Kanan had spotted from the plateau above.  After driving out some cave bats that were fluttering about and setting up traps near the entrance, they were settled in as the storm set foot above the Tzannis Plateau.  They huddled around a crackling fire (Dia swore it was the biggest open flame she could get all day with a scowl), discussing their future.

"It seems like such a big weight on both of your shoulders to have to carry on your family names."

Kanan states as she leans backwards, settling her back against the smooth, rounded wall.  "I mean... I'm the same way too I guess.  It just doesn't feel as big as taking over the Kurosawa or Ohara businesses."  Her eyes drift away from the crackling flames, resting on her spear that's leaning not too far from her.

Mari and Dia exchange weary glances, it wasn't often Kanan got like this, but they could tell there was something she was hiding from them.  Knowing that Kanan hated to be prodded, they try to shift the topic to themselves.

"Dia, what about Ruby?  Wouldn't she be suitable to take on the business if you were to take a different path?" Mari asks, always curious about what was there for the youngest Kurosawa.  A smile curls on Dia's lips as she continues to stare at the weaving embers crackling from the fire.

"I couldn't let that happen to her.  I won't allow it."  Her answer is firm, no hesitance to be found in her tone.  "Ruby should be able to follow whatever she likes.  I'm the eldest anyway, the family business rests on my shoulders."

There's a slight squeal from Mari.  If she was next to her she would playfully squeeze Dia's ribs.  "That's _our_ Dia!  Always the best, selfless Sister!  But what about..." Mari leans in a little, a feline-like grin forming on her lips.  "If Ruby _wants_ to take over the business?  Would you _fight_ her for it?  To see if she's worthy?"

A scowl crosses Dia's face in response, "Me?  Fighting Ruby?  Are you crazy?  I would never do that to my little sister!"

"Ruby would win anyway." Kanan jabs in with a smirk, almost falling over in laughter as a quick flame bursts near her head from a quick snap of Dia's fingers.  The Kurosawa frowns, crossing her arms.  "To answer your question, Mari-san, I'm sure Ruby and I could work something out."

Satisfied with how she answered Mari's question, Dia leans back a little, glancing at the blonde across from her.  "What about the Ohara business?  It's rapidly expanding so I'm sure your Father would like some help eventually."

There's somewhat of a bright, playfulness to Mari's eyes as she leans backwards as well, her eyes following some of the embers that make it to the top of the cavern.  "Eventually, yeah.  But now, I just crave a good adventure... Somewhere outside of Auguste." Sensing the surprise in her two companions, Mari glances back down, looking over from Kanan whose next to her, to Dia who is across.  She can't help but grin.

"I want to do something before having to sit around all day and talk to boring old men."

Kanan can't help but chuckle, it was a very typical response from Mari.  Dia doesn't laugh but a small smile forms at the corner of her lips, sharing the same thoughts as Kanan.  With the discussion drawing to a satisfying close, they notice the storm still on-going and decide that perhaps it was a good time to turn in for the night.

 

* * *

 

For Dia, she's not the lightest of sleepers, but she is certainly not a heavy sleeper either, she just… has selective hearing (or so she says).  As the storm brews on in Tzannis, thunder still echoes throughout the night.  This doesn't bother her the slightest, and she continues to sleep.

"... _ia_!"

Her brow wrinkles, as she shifts about, blocking out the extraneous noise.

" _Di...a_!"

A boom of thunder roars above and Dia hears a mix of her name and a partial squeak.  A few moments pass, and silence overtakes them again... She's about to drift back off to sleep when another crackle of lightning and the sound of thunder echoes once more.

" **Dia!** "

With a small groan of annoyance, green eyes groggily open as she slowly sits up from her covers.  There's a soft glow behind her coming from the dying embers of the fire from earlier and she could barely make out Mari and Kanan from the darkness.  She blinks a couple of times and rubs the sleep away from her eyes, "What is it?" She mutters, narrowing her eyes across the dying fire.

Mari and Kanan had decided to share one side while Dia slept across from them, one, because the two of them rolled around way too much in the night, and two, Dia wasn't much of a... person for physical intimacy, so if either of them grabbed her in the middle of the night, she was sure to set them on fire with a quick flick of her fingers.

She easily can make out their huddled forms tightly together, both of them hiding beneath their blankets like a poorly-pitched makeshift tent with their arms wrapped tightly around each other in a rather comical way.  She raises a brow and opens her mouth to demand an answer once again, but the thunder from above and the slightly terrified quiet scream is enough of an answer for her.  She raises a brow in amusement as they just quiver against each other, staring at her with a rather hurt-puppy-dog eyed look.

She chuckles quietly soon after, groping around the side for a couple of extra logs they kept just in case and allows the mana to flow from her fingers and form a small fire at the tip, setting ablaze the corner of the log.  She adds them to their previously dying fire and sits up fully, smoothing down her hair to be somewhat presentable.  She shifts around, patting her lap a little and gesturing to her shoulder.  "... Just this once."

At this rare opportunity, they quickly move over to where Dia is—Kanan laying down on her lap and Mari huddling against her shoulder.  Dia finds a hand gently tangling through Kanan's navy hair and her other wrapping around Mari.  "You two are silly.  It's just a storm."

"It's not _just_ a storm.  It's a _damn_ loud one."  Kanan protests from below, sticking her tongue out at Dia's glare about her language.  She settles back down though, slightly flinching as the thunder bangs once again.  Dia sighs, gently running her hand through Kanan's hair and squeezing Mari's side.  The entire scenario itself reminded her of home, when her and Ruby were younger, they would get scared easily over loud noises like thunder, so they would huddle against their Mother, who would tell them stories of skyfarers and the outstretched blue sky above.

Dia figures that the experience is good enough for her two friends as they huddle against her still.  She takes a deep breath before proposing for them to listen to a tale of the old, a tale that was passed around from city to city, a tale that entails the adventure of an ordinary skyfarer crew that took on many challenges across the outstretched blue sky above...

...

Sometime passes and Kanan falls asleep in Dia's lap, the thunder getting softer and softer throughout the night.  She occasionally mumbles something about ' _mikans_ ' which leave Dia perplexed but she just ignores it.  Mari doesn't fall asleep as easily, as she stays relaxed on Dia’s shoulder.

"Did you ever want to travel those skies, Dia?" She asks gently as the two of them just stare at the crackling fire across from them.  Her eyes are drawn up the side profile of the raven-haired girl, searching for a hidden answer in those green eyes of hers.  She spots not just a gaze of sadness but longing as well. 

"Perhaps.  I've always fantasized being a strong skyfarer that traversed across the blue sky, but nothing more." Dia picks her words carefully, not wanting to dawdle on a thought that she put away long ago.  She feels Mari shift on her shoulder, and a warmth suddenly on her hand--Mari's hand gently lays itself on top of hers, fingers entwining with her own.

"We should go together.  One day."

Dia's eyes widen, and her breath is lost in the back of her throat.  She feels Mari squeeze her hand gently and Dia couldn't help but wait for a second... Perhaps this is one of Mari's jokes again... But when she doesn't hear anything else, she turns to ask if it was joke...

Just to be met with a soft snore.  Dia groans, rolling her eyes.  She can't help but smile however, her eyes moving towards the now dwindling fire in front of her.

_That would be nice._

Is what she wants to say but doesn't have the courage to voice her own thoughts.

 

* * *

 

When the next morning rolls about, Dia is the first to wake-up, finding herself lost in a mess of blankets and limbs.  Somehow during the night, she had fallen asleep sitting up with Mari still stuck on her shoulder and Kanan's head on her lap.  They all must have somehow ended up in the heaps of blankets behind her and moved about during the night.  She urges Kanan and Mari to wake up, so they could prepare for their long hike back home.

The hike back home is rather uneventful.  They run into a water sprite here and there, but they handled them with ease.  By the time they return to the village, it's the late afternoon and as Dia was about to part with Kanan and Mari at the crossroads, someone collides into her back.  Dia and her mysterious collider both go tumbling down.

"Pigya!"

"Piggi!"

Kanan and Mari both raise an eyebrow--that was odd, the cries sounded way too similar, was this a coincidence?

"I-I'm s-sorry I-I was in a hurry and-- Onee-chan!?"

Dia is quick to regain her bearings, shaking her head and gathering her quiver and bow that scattered on the dirty road... and snaps her head next to her, meeting with very similar looking green eyes.  "Ruby?! What are you doing?"

"T-There's a big problem!  By the beach I-I heard swarms of crabs came up from their homes.  A-And not just small ones, but those _huge_ ones!  Like crushers!"

Ruby usually never jokes and Dia glances up at Mari and Kanan, her eyes narrowing in worry.  Mari frowns, "Why are crushers at the beach?  It's not even mating season for crabs yet..." She ponders, voicing the same thoughts that Dia had.  Kanan also has a perplexed look on her face, her brow furrowing a little.  "The beach... there's lots of tourists coming by that area and..."

Her eyes suddenly widen in realization, "Chika and You are..." the mumble is barely heard by Dia and Mari as Kanan abruptly takes off down the path towards the beach.  This spurs Mari and Dia to act quickly as well, worried about Kanan suddenly taking off like that.  Dia is pulled to her feet by Mari and the blonde playfully strikes her shoulder.  "No time to play in the dirt, _second-in-command_."

Even in serious times she could find a way to rile Dia up.  She takes off after Kanan, and Dia is left gawking a little before furiously chasing the blonde.  "I am _not_ your second-in-command!"

 

* * *

 

The beach is in chaos when Mari and Dia (and a huffing and puffing Ruby) arrive.  There are small groups of Skyfarers that happen to be in the area trying to fend off the onslaught of crabs and protect those who cannot fight at the same time scattered along the beach.  It's easy to spot Kanan, whose locked in a heated one-on-one with a crusher.  She's the only thing blocking it from a pair of girls who are watching in a mix of fear and concern for Kanan.

Dia's eyes scan the beach quickly, plans and formations developing in her mind already.  She grabs Mari's shoulder just as the blonde was about to go to Kanan's side.  Mari spins around, "Dia, we have to help Kanan!"

"We will!  You need to hold on for a minute." She snaps, "There is no point in tunneling on one objective without looking at the whole picture."

Mari is immediately silenced, knowing Dia's words held truth.  She tosses a quick glance at Kanan, seeing that she was still in one piece, and returns her gaze back to Dia, taking a steady breath to calm her nerves.  "Then, what should we do?"

"First, we need to get everyone who is injured or cannot fight off the beach.  Then from there, the crushers and crabs need to be picked off." Dia's eyes trace over the beach, as if she's counting all the crabs that were scuttling along.  "Crushers and crabs are not very smart creatures.  They will chase after anything that hits them, no matter how soft or how hard.  I will lead them away as you and Kanan-san get people to safety--"

"You're crazy!  Dia, I won't allow that.  You and I both know your stamina might not be able to hold--"

"Stop arguing with me." Dia is quick to retort Mari's argument, her cheeks slightly flaring up in anger.  "You need to _trust_ me.  Remember it is not just us fighting out here, there are other skyfarers that are holding their ground too." She extends her arm out, pointing out the small groups that are locked in against the crushers as well.

"They are an important part of this plan.  It is easier to take out mobs if they are all focused on one target.  The skyfarers can do this just as easily as you, Kanan-san, and I can."  Dia is quick to bring her hand back in and pushes Mari towards Kanan.  "You and I both know Kanan-san is the strongest out of both of us and can easily help those who are injured off the beach.  So, you need to get her as soon as possible."

She is serious, and her eyes show her conviction and dedication to her plan.  "Hurry up and go!  We do not have time to waste!"

Dia can tell Mari doesn't fully agree with her and wants to argue with her some more, but Dia stands her ground--they could not afford to spend more time deliberating on what to do.  Begrudgingly, Mari just nods, yelling at her not to die before she could see her again, and runs off in Kanan's direction, gun drawn and dark magic flowing at the tips of her fingers.

There was one more piece to her plan before Dia could get to work herself.

Dia turns to her younger sister, who's been watching her with fascination by her side.  She kneels, clasping Ruby's shoulders.  "Ruby, you know your Onee-chan hates to put you in danger, but I trust you know how to protect yourself.  Mother and Father taught you as well as they taught me."

Ruby quickly nods, holding up her staff in determination.  Dia smiles, knowing that her younger sister would listen well.  "Then you need to tell all the skyfarers to take out the crushers and anything else that are after me." She takes a steady breath, squeezing Ruby's shoulders a little.  "I would... rather not have to put you through this, but I need your help to make this work."

"You can count on me, Onee-chan.  Y... You're doing your best to help everyone, You... Mari-san... and Kanan-san too!  I'm going to give it my all!"

Dia quickly draws Ruby in for a tight hug and releases her as she draws her bow out from behind.  "Please stay safe, Ruby."

"You too, Onee-chan!"

 

* * *

 

Dia cursed herself sometimes.

In the quick span of one minute, she thought of a fool proof plan to draw the crabs away from people and to deal with the problem at the same time.  It was a brilliant idea and every piece of the puzzle she pushed into motion did its role well.

Except for _her_.

She, one of the most, if not, the most important part, was failing due to her over estimating how much she could take.

She easily drew the crabs away from the groups of people fighting and innocents being chased with her arrows.  This gave time for people to evacuate and skyfarers to follow through with her plan after Ruby explained everything.  They were quick to help her by taking out the enemies from behind.

But she didn't realize how much strain she put on herself when she mixed running _and_ using her fire magic.

Through some trial and error and some training practice, Dia had learned that even though fire was not as effective against crushers, they still functioned like crabs.  That meant that at higher temperatures, it took more energy to function.  So, she took precaution of where to run, choosing to go as far away from the shoreline as possible and to use her magic to effectively heat the sands beneath the monsters that chased her. 

This was effective, this worked very well.

Except it was draining and her physical form could not keep up with doing both at the same time.  It wasn't long before she felt the wisps of flames at her finger tips start to flicker and disappear into the air and her breaths becoming shorter and choppier.  Her energy was quickly disappearing, and this strained her mana flow.

Wearily, she glances behind her.

And is sent flying backwards from a giant blue claw that easily smacks her body.  Luckily sand is softer than something like wood or rocks and her fall didn't hurt _as_ much.  She could hear her bow clatter uselessly away from her and she couldn't even reach for it when her reflexes kicked in, rolling away as another claw comes slamming down on the spot she landed.

She starts to cough, her mouth full of blood and sand.  Her entire body screams in exhaustion and pain.  Her back stings and she could already feel the bruise forming on her cheek.  Even after spitting (a proper woman would never spit but she had no choice in the heat of the moment) the sand and blood out she is attacked again.  As the pincer comes crashing down, she must resort to her last weapon on her body--a bladed, red fan that was a gift to her from her Mother on her Birthday during the first year she had learned how to use magic, to hold the pincer back from completely crushing her.

With the motion suddenly halted, she senses the confusion from her enemy and quickly pushes the claw right next to her head.  With adrenaline flowing through her, she wills all the mana she has left into one final fireball to push the crab away.  The attack is successful--

\--on one enemy, she didn't account for the second crusher that hit her earlier.

The second crusher is closing in on her crumpled form and Dia grits her teeth as she can only do so much at this point.  She is about to fight with what little energy she has left until the crusher’s movements suddenly slows down.

A gunshot echoes throughout the air and the crusher slumps over, nearly crushing Dia but she at least has the energy to roll out of the way.

Knowing that she was safe, her fan falls to the sand and her body gives out.  Her vision is blackening, and she can barely hear her name being called out in desperation.

The last thing she thinks about is how she wants to travel across the blue sky stretched out above.

 

* * *

 

Faraway from the outskirts of the capital of Auguste Isles, a small seaside village resides.  The area is a flat land but there are some high hills scattered around (especially when traveling to the Tzannis Plains to the North-east side of the island).  It's known that at the top of some of these hills, you can see the stars very clearly on a good night.

"Dia!  C'mon, you're not that slow now, are you?"

A few weeks passed since the incident at the beach took place.

Dia was quickly saved by Mari at the very last second and her immediate wounds were taken care of by her younger sister when the rest all found her.  She was taken home after for some much-needed rest where her physical wounds were healed by a mix of Ruby and a girl who lived by the only temple in the small village (and happened to be Ruby's best friend) Hanamaru.  However, Dia was kept under strict watch and confinement to her bed for the first few days--mana exhaustion was a serious issue and could only be cured with proper rest and time.

This irked Dia to no end, not being able to do her daily training or exercises but she busied herself in some old books and journals about various of things like monsters, plants, and other islands outside of Auguste Isles.  Her sister did sneak in a peak to see her reading some old tales of adventures, but she wasn't going to tell anyone that.

When Dia's mana was back to a sufficient amount and she wasn't locked away in her house, she was able to go back to her routines (slowly).  Mari and Kanan were enthusiastic to have her back but watched over her carefully (especially the former) to make sure she didn't overdue it again.

On a particular night after the incident, Mari alone came over and asked for her to go on a walk together.

"Just...a moment..."

Dia is wheezing a little as she finally manages to join Mari at the top of the hill.  On a normal day, this would be easy for her, but her body was still under some tension.  She feels Mari's eyes lingering on her but waves the worry away as she joins her by her side.  They both look towards the sky above, a black sky stretched above, lit up with thousands and thousands tiny little specks of light.

It's an amazing sight to see and one of the only ones you can outside of the hustle and bustle of the capital not too far from them.

There's some uncharacteristic hesitance coming from Mari, and Dia feels a hand gently pressing up on her own, before taking her hand slowly.  Dia's observant, noticing that lately Mari had been shifting some of her physical intimacy (the one that Dia was not exactly comfortable with) to her.  She's not exactly sure why, but it's not a... terrible thing either.

(Dia would never admit this out loud, she would die of embarrassment.)

"Dia... I need to tell you something."

Dia stays silent, turning towards the blonde and nodding.  Mari slowly matches her gaze--normally upbeat and energetic eyes are laced with seriousness and... hesitation?  Or was it sadness?  She's unsure at this moment.

"I'm... leaving Auguste Isles."

The silence is deafening between the two of them.  When Mari searches Dia's eyes for a response, there's only surprise and confusion.  She can't even feel an emotion through the hand that she has in her own.  It was just slack.  However, when Dia narrows her eyes a little, Mari somewhat sighs in relief--that was the Dia she knew.

"It's not a joke." Mari quickly interjects, knowing Dia was waiting for it.  "I received a letter from the Mysteria Academy of Magic.  Someone from the academy sent it to me, expressing my magical aptitude and how I would be a perfect fit in the academy."

The Mysteria Academy of Magic is the most prestigious magic academy known to nearly everyone all over.  Those who are aspiring to be mages make it their dream to attend this academy.  Anyone, no matter how rich or poor could be accepted into it's famous halls, but the entrance exams were grueling.  Staff members from the academy are also known to roam all the different islands, looking for new students to place in the academy--variance in knowledge and magic was always welcomed in the magical world.

So, when Dia heard the name, she was honestly and pleasantly surprised.  "The Mysteria Academy of Magic... That's great, Mari-san!" Her enthusiasm could almost not be contained.  "The most famous magic academy... Imagine all the different magic you can see... Imagine all the books you could read!"

With each word coming from Dia's mouth, her emotions are coming to life.  Mari cannot contain her laughter anymore, nearly toppling over onto Dia as she can't stop.  Dia is confused, shaking her head a little, "T-This is no laughing matter!  It's the most prestigious magic academy known to everyone!"

"I-I-I know!  I know!" Mari says in her roundabouts of laughter.  "I-It's just... It's just so like _you_ to be like this."

Confusion laces through Dia's elated emotions as Mari slowly pushes close to her.  She feels her rest her head against her shoulder, and Dia doesn't know whether to push her away or not.  She gently bites her lip, choosing to take the risk and rest her hands on Mari's waist instead.

"I honestly wanted to decline at first... I didn't deserve such an honor.  I just happened to be one of the few people who can use dark magic.  If anyone who deserves it, it should be y--"

The temperature against Mari's cheek spikes, and she yelps a little, pulling away from Dia, who brought a hand up to her cheek when she didn't notice.  Dia grabs Mari's shoulders, staring at her in the eye with the same challenging and determined stare she knew so well.

"Don't you _dare_ finish that sentence."

Dia's words make her immediately clam up and the intensity reflecting in her eyes enraptures her.

"You are a perfectly capable mage who can go even further."

A heavy and somewhat somber tension surrounds them now, both of them staring at each other to look for some sort of reaction or emotion.  It's shortly after, that Dia pulls away.  "You deserve this chance."

Mari is silent, her body slightly quivering at Dia's encouragement.  It's odd for her to be in such a timid state, but only _Dia_ can do this.  She looks up finally at Dia before she cautiously asks, "Then... Then is it okay if I hug you right now?"

The request catches Dia off her guard.  She raises a brow a little, wasn't Mari just hugging her earlier?

She has the right mind to not try and start a fight with her confusion, so she opens her arms out awkwardly--and Mari embraces her tightly.  The blonde's head digs into her shoulder and it takes Dia some time before she figures out she can rest her chin on top of the crown of her head.

Even though she is delighted for Mari to get such a massive opportunity to study elsewhere, this is something that she is going to miss.

But once again, she doesn't have the courage to voice these thoughts.  There is a time and place for everything, and the time would eventually come.

 

* * *

 

After Mari leaves, Dia and Kanan find themselves sitting on the beach together, just staring out into the endless sea.  Since watching Mari leave from Mizarea and their hike home, they hadn't said a word to each other--lost in their own thoughts.

It's Kanan that eventually starts, sighing as she rests against her knees.  "You know... I think I know when Mari was spotted by the Mysteria Academy."

Dia's eyes flicker slightly but continue to stare at the aimless sea.  "What do you mean?  It’s obvious it was the incident on the beach." She replies, confused at where this was going.

"It was but..." Kanan sighs again, rubbing the back of her neck.  "Did Mari ever tell you what happened when she came to help?"

Dia shakes her head.  Kanan continues on, "She yelled at me.  Mari doesn't lose her composure that easily Dia.  You and I know her better than she probably knows herself.  I never saw her so... Mmm..." A small frown drops on Kanan's lips, "So... rash before... almost to the point that it seemed desperate."

"... And?" Dia's question is hush, as if she knew what the next answer was but didn't want to hear it.

"After she told me what to do, she pushed herself forward, destroying anything and everything that stood in her way.  It was... scary, but in the process, it saved so many people.  At the end, when she was crying for you, I saw a blue-haired woman watching her.  That woman was one of the first people that Mari saved, but for some reason, my gut told me that she wasn't any ordinary tourist."

Dia goes silent, as the entire situation was now processing in her mind.

"Mari feels _guilty_ , Dia.  Mari didn't want to leave, not like this.  When she first told me about the Academy, she said she nearly ripped up the letter, but her parents asked her about it.  When she told them, she knew that there was no turning back."

This is when Dia grows frustrated, glancing at Kanan beside her.  "I do not understand, why, out of all things, does she feel guilty?"

"Because her power was only recognized because of _you_!"

...

"What?"

Kanan groans, now matching Dia's confused look with narrowed eyes.  "Dia, Mari felt indebt to you.  It was because of your plan that they found out about her power.  Otherwise, things could have been different.  That's why Mari wanted you to tell her not to go!"

"I would never do something so selfish."

Dia snaps, almost glaring at Kanan now.  "I didn't want her to go either.  But I couldn't tell her _no_.  You wouldn't do something like that either, Kanan-san!"

Kanan goes silent, sighing heavily again.  "... Yeah, I wouldn't.  But Dia, if _you_ did it, Mari probably wouldn't have left.  Mari--" The words seem to die at her lips, and Kanan immediately shuts her mouth.  She just sighs again, and slumps over, touching her shoulder against Dia's.  Dia doesn't have the heart to push her away.

"... I just miss her."

Dia can’t even say a _'I do as well'_ , so she opts for a small nod instead.

 

* * *

 

With Mari off to Mysteria Academy, Kanan and Dia were left on Auguste Isles to carry out their lives normally.  While Kanan seemed to be perfectly fine with helping her family business and training, Dia couldn't sit still.  It somewhat bothered her in a way, Mari was in a faraway place studying and practicing magic at such a quick rate while she was still here, doing the basics repeatedly and trying to improve on her own.

Her progress felt like it stagnated, and she was up against a wall.  However, the only way she could think of climbing over that wall was to _leave_.  Her dreams of flying through the sky, of having adventures in far away places came back, and wouldn't leave.

They came to be more and more frequent that Dia almost wished she didn't sleep.

It wasn't until she met the one thing that would help her leave that she decided to chase her dreams.

"This is?"

Green zyes gaze up at the airship that was towering over her.  Ruby had stayed over at Hanamaru's temple the night before and Dia's Mother asked Dia to go over to greet the Kunikidas and to get Ruby (Ruby was old enough to take care of herself, but her parents were always protective of her).  When she arrived at the temple, Ruby and Hanamaru were in the fields behind, having tea.  In the same fields, a small, worn down airship was anchored in the middle.

"It's from my parents, zura." Hanamaru quipped as Dia is staring up at it.  "They came home recently with it, they said it's at the near end of its course in its current state, so they decided to leave it at the temple."

Dia slides a hand against the wood, it was still smooth even though the colour was fading away.  She bites her lip, thoughts, plans, ideas, _dreams_ all swarming and mixing together in her mind.  She continues to inspect it, "Can it... be fixed?"

"Probably!  It will take some time and rupies."  Hanamaru replies, giggling quietly at Ruby who has munching down on some sweet potato cakes that her parents brought back from their adventure.

"I'll take it."  Dia is suddenly back at their table, a serious glint in her eyes.  Hanamaru nearly drops her teacup and Ruby starts choking on the cake.

"Please, Hanamaru-san, this might be my one chance."

Ruby's choking doesn't cease and Hanamaru is trying to prepare some tea for her friend next to her.  With Ruby finally downing some liquid to help clear out her throat, the brunette returns her gaze to Dia, slowly swallowing as green eyes stare at her expectantly.

"I... I'll ask..."

 

* * *

 

When Dia is passionate about something, she is _passionate_.  She tends to tunnel into that one thing and will focus her strength and energy to make it happen.

Luckily for her, she does take a step back to look at the bigger picture before throwing her entire being into it.  And the day after Hanamaru tells her that her parents were willing to sell the worn-down airship to the eldest Kurosawa, she got to work.

Her parents were less than enthusiastic however, not keen on their daughter leaving Auguste for an undisclosed period.  Especially with how the world was becoming a more dangerous place.  Dia had prepared for this with her many sheets of papers that contained her proposal and argument of why this was a good idea.  She looked forward to having a civil, open discussion with her parents about this. 

Fortunately, it didn't take her long to convince them.

(In actuality, according to Ruby, it took the entire day, one argument in the afternoon until her mother had to prepare and make dinner, to one argument during dinner, to one argument after dinner...  She snuck off to Hanamaru's temple the next day to get a breather from all their arguing.)

The one flaw to her plan was time.  The offer that Hanamaru's parents gave her was a fair price and they said they would help in repairing and cleaning up the airship... But it was going to take some time.  That was fine with Dia, she wanted the airship to be able to fly after all.  She was going to need time to save and gather rupies as well, her parents’ small allowance was not going to pay for this.

By Dia's calculations, it was going to take two years until she was ready to leave.  It was just something she would have to deal with--this required a lot of time and patience after all.

During this time, Dia started to take on a more active role in the village, asking around and helping with any side jobs they had.  While a lot of it was labour work, from helping at shops, to delivering supplies or things to Mizarea, it helped her gain experience and some rupies at the same time.  She even left a few times to Mizarea to take on a few jobs here and there.

She talked to Kanan, hoping that her best friend would join her (it would help pay for the cost as well), but things fell through.  Kanan was surprisingly hesitant in leaving.  When Dia tried to push it, Kanan would not budge.  This strained their relationship, and they hardly spoke ever since.

Two years flew by rather quickly, and an older, mature Dia stood proudly in front of the airship she spent countless of hours and days working for.  After coming back from another job from Valtz Duchy, Hanamaru's parents were able to get to work on her airship.  Repairing the airship itself didn't take a long time, it was the nature of their work that kept them away from home for long periods of time.

But now, it was ready to go.

Dia turns around, there was still work needed to be done before she could take off next week--and was met with familiar and similar green eyes.  She tilts her head a little.

"Ruby?"

"There's... one more condition before you can take the airship."

Dia raises a brow but waits patiently for her sister to continue.  Ruby takes a deep breath, taking a small step forward, and puffing out her chest to be able to show the courage to stand up to her big sister.  "I want you to take Hanamaru-chan with you!"

The said brunette peered from the side of Ruby's shoulder--hiding the entire time behind her back, with a small smile.

"You... You want me to take Hanamaru-san outside of Auguste?"

"Y-Y-Yes!  I-I would feel safer if she was with you, Onee-chan!"

A frown dips on Dia's lips and she narrows her eyes.  "Ruby, first, while I do appreciate your concern, you shouldn't be making these sorts of decisions without discussing it, second, _I_ would feel safer if Hanamaru-san was--"

"O-O-Onee-chan!"

"--with you and able to look after you while I am gone.  And third, I think--"

"Dia-san."

Before Dia could continue her list of reasons why this was not a great idea, Hanamaru steps away from Ruby, taking Ruby's hand in her own and squeezing it gently, before meeting Dia's eyes.  "This is something Ruby-chan and I talked about before.  It was my decision in the end to accompany you on your journey."

Dia immediately stops.  She clearly is against this but there is something in Hanamaru's eyes that she couldn't put into words... Something that made her think twice about trying to push away Hanamaru and Ruby.  She hated to admit defeat, but the more she thought about it, the more that having Hanamaru with her would help immensely.

"... Okay.  Okay.  If Hanamaru-san is fine with it, then she may come."

Without any hesitation, Ruby flings herself forward, embracing her older sister and clutches onto her tightly.  "T-Thank you so much, Onee-chan!  I-I'm just so... I-I can trust Hanamaru-chan with you!"

Dia nearly trips over her own feet but grasps Ruby in her arms, smiling as she tilts her head down to rest against hers.  "I promise I will take care of Hanamaru-san for you."

Silently, Hanamaru smiles as she joins the Kurosawa sisters, wrapping her arms from behind Ruby and resting her head against the youngest.  "And I will take care of Dia-san as well, Ruby-chan."

 

* * *

 

Dia cautiously flips a letter she holds in her hand over and over again.  She fiddles with the corners of the folded paper as she is walking over to the one pier that is located on the beach.  Her last task is to deliver this letter to the Matsuura home, addressed to Kanan.

It is one final offer to come with her outside of Auguste Isles.

Even though they barely spoke over the last two years, Dia still held Kanan as one of her best and most precious friends.  She still, to this day, didn't know why Kanan resisted leaving her home, but she would feel terrible if she just left without saying goodbye.

At the docks, she is surprised to see an orange-haired girl, preparing the boat to be used to get to the island that the Matsuura home is located.  She easily recognizes who it was.  "Chika-san?"

"Oh?  Dia-san, hello!"

Chika is a young, spirited girl that lived near this beach.  Her family owned an Inn that is extremely popular with tourists because of its nice view and their special hot baths.  She is close friends with Kanan, perhaps even closer than Mari or Dia, but this is something that neither of them knew because Kanan never talked about Chika that much when they were together.  Dia had worked with Chika a few times during the last two years, helping at the Inn and doing some errands for the family as well.

"Are you going to see Kanan-chan?" Chika asks as she holds out her hand to Dia--assuming that the both of them are going in the same direction.  Dia is somewhat hesitant, politely declining her hand and kneels instead to be at a closer talking distance with her.

"Some...what." Dia holds up the letter.  "I just wanted to drop this letter off."

Chika blinks, before laughing quietly and grinning a little.  "You're both not really talking still, huh?" Dia just nods.  Chika laughs again, rubbing the back of her neck.

"She's really stubborn like that.  Kanan-chan can get a bit mopey but she's too stubborn to do something about it." She reasons, and Dia can't help but crack a small smile.  The way Chika talks about Kanan feels nostalgic in a way, and the orange-haired girl has a way with words.  Chika holds up her hand again.

"I can take it to her, I'm staying at her house for the night."

Dia blinks, hesitantly moving the paper back in Chika's direction.  "I hate to be a burden to you, Chika-san."

"Nah, it's okay!  You help out a ton, especially during our crazy busy seasons.  It's the least I can do." Chika takes the letter without anymore protest, slipping it into an orange bag she has nearby.  "Besides, you're really inspiring too!"

"How so?" Dia blinks, it is the first-time hearing something like that.

"You worked so hard to achieve your goal.  It really motivated me as well."  There's a spark in the girl's eyes that Dia couldn't help but remember from a close friend that's been gone for two years.  "I've considered leaving too, actually!  Still gotta work out the plans but I'm getting there."

A small smile curls on Dia's lips, "I wish you luck then."

"Thanks!  Take care on your journey too.  I hope one day we will meet outside of Auguste!"

Dia straightens out, brushing any dirt off herself.  "I hope so as well.  Also, Chika-san, I hate to ask for another favor, but in the case that Kanan-san doesn't leave... Could you..."

"I'll take care of her.  I always will."

There's something with Chika's tone that Dia can’t quite grasp, but it makes her relax--it felt like an incredible burden was lifted from her shoulders.

"Thank you.  Let's meet again in the future."

 

* * *

 

All of Dia's preparations have finally come together.  All the waking hours and sleepless nights she pulled off was for this day and for the upcoming days ahead.  The day she leaves, basically the entire village is gathered at the Kunikida temple.  Whispers of her departure swept around, and some wanted to see the airship take off to the skies.

This didn't bother her, it just surprised her that it was such an ordeal. 

She pays no mind to it, patiently waiting for Hanamaru's parents to finish checking the airship one last time and telling their daughter of any precautions and things to look out for.  Ruby had been by Hanamaru's side the entire time, not wanting to let go until she had to.  The only time she did was to cling onto her as well.

She chuckles quietly, the next time she will see Ruby, she had a feeling she will be a lot more mature.  A tap on her shoulder makes her turn around, and Chika and You are standing there, grinning.

"Chika-san, You-san.  It was nice working with the both of you the past two years."

"Of course, Dia-san!  You know steering an airship is much like steering a boat, I have high hopes for you!"  You salutes to her, laughing a little as Dia chuckles nervously--Dia isn’t exactly the best at boat steering but You had been giving her pointers and advice.

Green eyes dart over to Chika, who has her hands behind her back, hiding something.  "And Chika-san about..."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Chika says, smiling.  You nods in agreement, even nudging Chika's side with a snicker.  The orange-haired girl flushes, slapping You's hand away.

Dia is unsure of what the girls' actions meant, but she just smiles--perhaps it will work out.  Hanamaru appears back to her side, telling her that they are ready to go.  With one final nod, she bid the two girls off, and went to say her final goodbyes to her parents and her younger sister.

"Dia, dear, you've grown up to be such a fine woman.  I have to admit the armor that your younger sister designed for you is quite elegant and beautiful."

Dia's mother is gently moving a hand over the armor and clothes that Dia wears proudly.  It is based off the traditional garb they wear on special nights during the summer but is light and flexible to be able to move easily around in battle.  "Please stay safe.  Your Mother and Father will always be in Auguste if you ever need to return."

A comforting smile is on the woman's face, and Dia can't help but lean in, squeezing her Mother tightly.  "Thank you.  I will use everything you have taught me in my journey."

Dia eventually leaves her arms and turns to her Father, who hands her a thick, folded paper.  He grins knowingly, "I know you're going out there to catch up to a certain someone, so I asked around for some information.  Those are some locations that might be a good place to start out small and work your way upwards.  A friend of mine, Siero, said she can help you out."

She unfolds the paper, which turns out to be a map with locations marked and circled for her.  She doesn't miss the star that's beside the Mysteria Academy of Magic.  She feels her lips quiver a little, as she looks up at her father.  The Kurosawa head just smiles, enveloping Dia in a warm hug.

"Make me proud.  I know you can be the strongest mage out there."

Dia is silent, clutching onto him and trying to hide her tears.

When it's Ruby's turn... She's not sure who is crying at this point--her or Ruby.  Ruby buries herself in Dia's hold tightly, incoherent words tumbling out of her mouth, but Dia knows it's all words of affection and trust.

"One... One day... One day Onee-chan... I-I'll follow... I'll follow your steps and come... come find you..." Ruby mumbles as they eventually pull away.  Dia had a feeling that Ruby would say something like that, and once she puts her mind to it, she'll go for it.

Stubbornness ran in the Kurosawa family, after all.

"I look forward to that day, Ruby."

Dia leans forward, placing a chaste kiss against Ruby's forehead.  "Here is some courage that will help you find me."

Ruby blinks a little, cheeks flushing a bit before she draws herself into Dia again, sobbing against her shoulder.  Hanamaru has to help (gently) pry her off, in which Ruby hugs Hanamaru tightly again.  Dia and Hanamaru just give each other knowing glances, before saying their final farewell to Ruby.

Hanamaru goes first as she is the most familiar with starting the airship.  Dia gives one last look at everyone, nodding her head and smiling.  Her eyes trace over to the exit of the temple, staring off to the distance.  Very quickly, a frown sets on her face, but she turns away to hide it from those who are watching her.

She takes one step to the airship and stops suddenly.

" _Dia!_ "

The abruptness of her name being called makes her turn around, and Kanan is suddenly at the exit, huffing and puffing.  In one hand, she has her spear and a bag of her belongings, and the other is a familiar folded up paper that Dia had written one week ago.  Her eyes widen.

"Kanan..."

Kanan takes long strides to get to where Dia is after taking a minute to catch her breath.  She gives her an apologetic smile.  "... Sorry, I'm late." There's a spark to Kanan's eyes now, something much more... alive, if Dia had to put a word to it.  "Cutting it close, I'll have to punish you for that."

Her friend laughs, waving her hands a little.  "Yeah, yeah, I know.  I'll pay for the first dinner when we get to Port Breeze."

"Good, now hurry up inside, we can't be wasting a perfectly good day of flying."

Dia turns her back around, hiding the smile that crept up on her face.  Kanan nods quickly but pauses in her track as she sets her things down.  "Just a second."  Dia blinks, turning around as Kanan leaves the airship quickly, jogging over to where Chika and You are.

Kanan and You talk first vigorously before exchanging a quick hug and a high five.  Then, when she turns to Chika, the conversation seems to turn into something... deeper.  Dia couldn't hear anything that they were saying, but it didn't seem like it was a lot.  Eventually Kanan reaches forward and embraces Chika tightly.  Chika responds just as much.

They pull away and Chika shoves a bag into Kanan's arms before ushering her off.  When Kanan returns to where Dia is waiting for her, she quickly gathers her things and gets on the airship without another word.

Dia thinks she saw tears at the corner of Kanan's eyes but didn't want to read too much into it.

She glances upwards, towards the outstretch blue skies and takes one deep breath.

It’s finally time to leave.

 

* * *

 

Dia's journey takes her all over the Phantagrande Skydom--the name that she finds out is what they call their region of islands.  Sierokarte, or rather 'Siero', the manager of Knickknack Shack helped Dia get started on her journey, handing Dia all these different job requests from all sorts of people.  The beginning was slow--doing menial tasks such as delivery and escorting people around different parts of the city and different islands.   Then some obscure activities like running a snack shack on a beach and fishing and hunting for said shack. 

It reminded Dia too much of home.

However, it was just the beginning and they slowly were given harder tasks once people spread the name 'Azalea'--a name that Hanamaru came up with for their crew.  Quests and assignments given to them started to become more interesting and even more dangerous.  They encountered many different monsters and people along the way; it was an eye-opening experience for the three who had been living in their seaside village most of their lives.

"We should spend the next couple of days... doing some minor maintenance... and restocking of supplies."  Hanamaru says in between bites of some sort of bread-like snack she is eating.  Dia is next to her, holding a bag full of minerals that they had to retrieve from Valtz Duchy, an island famous for its mines, minerals, and steel industry.  Hanamaru's parents used materials from Valtz Duchy to repair the airship that Azalea uses, so Hanamaru figured it would be good for their crew to also stock up to do adjustments to the airship when they had a break.

"This will also give us time to figure out our next course.  Port Breeze has been quiet as of late, therefore we should use this chance to travel elsewhere to look for more work or to simply explore." Dia adds as they open the door slowly to the Knickknack Shack, ducking a little to avoid hitting their heads against the top of the door frame.  The Knickknack Shack is rather busy--while it does run as a tavern and an inn for other skyfarers and travellers, it feels that there are _too_ many people around.

They find the small owner at her usual counter, handing out fliers and counting some rupies that are on her counter.  Dia and Hanamaru approach the bar counter.  Siero looks up when the bag of minerals is placed down.

"Oh, Captain Dia!  Looks like you're back and got the goods!"  Siero casually greets as she takes the bag, opening it up to count everything inside.  Dia nods silently as Siero offers her and Hanamaru a seat while she double checks their mission.  They sit silently, taking a moment to scan the busy place.

"Siero-san, is there an event that's happening soon or are there just a large amount of skyfarers around?" Hanamaru pipes up, handing Siero a package of sweets that they bought from Valtz Duchy--maybe that's why Siero was so nice to them.  Siero squeals her thanks, handing Hanamaru some other foreign sweets she received before placing the mineral bag away.  "Big thanks Maru!  And to answer 'ya question, here 'ya go." She takes two fliers from her stack and hands one to Dia and one to Hanamaru.

"The next Guild Wars is comin' up, so tons and tons of crews are gathering around and preparin' for it." Siero disappears for a moment, going under her desk to look for the request form Dia's crew just finished and to get their rupies.

"Guild... Wars?" Dia mutters, flipping the flyer over and reading the finer details that's written out on the back.  Siero pops up, counting out the rupies that is for the Azalea crew.  "Yup!  One of the fiercest events that we hold at least once a month!  It's fun and exciting!  Skyfarers get to test their strength and teamwork and others get to watch 'em in action."

She counts out the rupies before sliding them in a bag and handing it to Dia.  "If your crew is staying in town, why don't you give it a try?  The prizes are great too!  It'll keep your crew afloat for many months to come plus you get some pretty powerful weapons." She grins, flipping Dia's flyer over, "The event this month is water-based monsters.  Might be good for your crew who has knowledge in these types."

A scowl immediately forms on Dia's face.  Siero and even Hanamaru laughs quietly, "Ah that's right, Captain Dia is a fire mage.  But you should have nothing to fear!  Good ol' Maru here is good at Earth magic, ain't that right, Maru?"

Hanamaru flushes, waving her hands.  "I-I'm just a healer, nothing more!"

"Nonsense, I've heard many things about your magic!"

The bar stool screeches a little as Dia stands up, she takes the flyer, waving it to Siero.  "I will think about your proposal for now, Siero-san.  Thank you very much for your hospitality.  Please let us know if there's any more requests for Azalea."

"Sure will, take care, Captain!  Hope to see you at the Guild Wars!"

Hanamaru quickly says her goodbyes to Siero and follows Dia, whose gaze continues to stare at the flyer in her hand.

 

* * *

 

The pair of Azalea members make their way back to the marketplace where they were supposed to meet up with Kanan.  Kanan was supposed to be doing some stock-ups on supplies while the other crew members were busy cleaning the Airship. 

Dia is intrigued by the Guild Wars event as they are walking.

"Do you think it is worth participating in, Hanamaru-san?"

"Hmm... Maybe, zura." Hanamaru ponders, "It will be a good change for the crew, I think.  The rules state that there are two rounds, a preliminary round and then a series of final rounds..." She pauses as she hands the flyer back to Dia.  "We could always just try it out in the preliminaries, and if we don't make it to the finals, I don't think it's a big deal."

Dia slowly nods her head, Hanamaru did have a point.  They could get a taste for the event before giving it their all in the next one in the upcoming month.  She groans though, out of all events for this month--it had to be _water._

The marketplace is bustling with life as usual and Hanamaru and Dia are surprised to find that Kanan is not at the meeting point.  Hanamaru glances around, "That's strange, zura... Kanan-san is usually here before we are...." The brunette looks back and forth, trying to spot their blue-haired crew member.

Some laughter catches Dia's attention and she turns around, immediately spotting Kanan, who has a pair of arms wrapped around her.  Kanan's face is slightly flushed but there's a smile at the corner of her lips.  Dia frowns, honestly, this was the third time this month, how many female admirers was Kanan going to have?  She swears it's the revealing armor that Kanan wears.

"Kanan-san!  Honestly, how many times have I told you to put on a jacket?!  Or wear something more decent!  We cannot have women flocking over you all the time!  What would--"

"D-Dia?"

In the middle of her chiding, a voice calls out to Dia.

Dia stops in her tracks, her eyes widening, and her breath sticks at the back of her throat--it is a voice that she hasn't heard in over two years.

When Kanan turns around in surprise, she sees a blonde woman dressed in black and purple leather armor in her arms.  Her hair rests just at her shoulders and she sport a familiar golden hair loop.  There is no mistaken it now, the woman that is hugging Kanan is Mari.

"Mari...san...?"

"Oh wow!  You've grown in two years!"

Dia's senses are suddenly invaded by the warm arms of the blonde and the familiar yet different scent. She nearly topples over but luckily Dia is good at holding her ground.  The surprise slowly drains from her face as she can't help but smile.  "It's... good to see you again."

She feels a pinch at her side and yelps, pulling away from Mari immediately.  Mari has a pout on her face, "Mou!  It's been two years and _that’s_ the first thing you say to me?!  Rude!"

Familiar reflexes are coming swiftly back to her, and Dia narrows her eyes.  "Excuse me?!  You are the one suddenly hugging people!  Do you ever consider someone's personal space?!"

"You hugged back!"

"I was making sure _you_ didn't fall!"

They're about to continue as they glare at each other... But it slowly slips away and they're both laughing this time as nostalgia settles in.  It truly has been two years and they are still the same.  Kanan and a couple of other unfamiliar girls joins them.

"Kanan was telling me that you started a crew right when you left Auguste.  I'm surprised that you made the move to leave!  I thought you would be there _forever_." Mari teases, gently poking Dia's cheek.  Dia bats her finger away, rolling her eyes.  "Please, you knew I had my sights on leaving, I just needed a way to do so."

"Awwww, my _second-in-command_ finally got promoted to captain!"

" _Second-in-command_?!"

Kanan sighs as she grasps both of their shoulders, squeezing it rather tightly (making Mari and Dia flinch), "Okay, okay, you two can put your little squabbles and rivalry on the back burner." She spots the flyer Dia has in her hand, and points to it.  "Did you get another request from Siero-san, Dia?"

"Oh this?  It's apparently a big event coming up."

"Ah, the Guild Wars." A soft-spoken voice says from the back.  It's from a girl with long-red hair, garbed in a mix of light pink, white, and purple armor.  She has an odd-looking rapier sheathed at her side.  "It's why we're here, correct, Mari-san?"

"Yes!  We're here to _smash_ the Guild Wars!" Mari cheers as she goes over to the two unfamiliar girls, throwing an arm around both of their shoulders.  "I forgot to introduce you, _excuse me_! Dia, Kanan, I would like you to meet two of my crew members!  Riko and Yohane."

"You mean Yoshiko-chan--"

" _Yohane!_ "

The red-haired sighs at the blue-haired girl next to her and bows politely to Dia and Kanan.  "Please forgive them, they're quite the handful.  My name is Sakurauchi Riko.  And this is Tsushima Yoshiko." She gestures to the other girl that Mari has an arm around.  Yoshiko simply laughs, wrapping an arm around herself as her other arm is upright, her hand covering her face.  "Kukuku, more warriors that will join the upcoming dark war?  It is a pleasure to meet you, potential little demons, I am the great Yohane, fallen from the heavens above and here to wreck--"

"Stop it, zura."

A hand chops Yoshiko on the head, making her cry out in surprise.  Hanamaru sighs as she steps back.  "You never change, Yoshiko-chan."

"It's Yoha-- Z-Zuramaru?!  In what timeline did I expect to run into you here?!"

Hanamaru sighs, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she glances away.  "I wanted to travel around like my parents..." She notices the confused glances from _everyone_ now, and blinks.  Realizing that she hadn't introduced herself yet, she bows quickly, "A-A-Aah, I-I'm sorry!  My name is Kunikida Hanamaru.  I'm part of Dia-san's crew.  Before I moved to Auguste Isles to live with my grandparents, I stayed with my parents for a short time on the same island as the Mysteria Academy of Magic.  Yoshiko-chan and I met there."

"Wow!  Yoshiko, you never told me you had such a cute childhood friend!"

"Yohane!  An-And Z-Zuramaru and I are not friends!  She's j-just a rebellious little demon!"

The pair turns away from each other, huffing... But when everyone went back to discussing the Guild Wars, they share shy glances and small smiles.

"So, you're thinking of joining the Guild Wars too, Dia?"

Dia folds her arms, thinking silently.  "It's a possibility.  We just finished a request, so we do have some downtime." She glances at Kanan and Hanamaru, before looking at Mari and her crew.  "I would have to discuss it with my crew first."

"If you do, why don't we have a little competition?" A cattish smile is on Mari's lips as she looks between Dia and Kanan.  "The crew who scores the highest honor is the winner!  It's very simple.  I'm sure Yohane and Riko-chan would be fine with it."

"Ohohoho, squashing another crew sounds like a pleasant time.  Such a devious idea, Mari!"  Mari and Yoshiko share a high five.  Riko laughs quietly but nods in agreement.  "A competition is fine in this case, it will encourage everyone to do their best and can help in our progress to becoming better mages."

Kanan grins, glancing at Dia and Hanamaru, before looking at Mari.  "We will gladly accept, that is if we enter." She looks at Dia again, who still seems to be contemplating the idea.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt." Dia adds, nodding.  Mari grins, holding her hand out, "Great!  A gentlewoman's agreement then!  Let's meet in the final rounds of the competition."

Dia shakes her hand, staring at Mari whose grin turns more into a sincere smile.  Dia squeezes her hand gently, and stares back at her with her own smile.  Silent words are passed between the two before they separate to return to their respective crews for the rest of the day.

 

* * *

 

When Dia brought the news of the Guild Wars event to the rest of the Azalea crew, they were ecstatic to participate.  It also helped that Kanan fired them up with their competition with a crew called 'Guilty Kiss' (why Mari used such a shameless name for her crew is beyond Dia).  With the event just looming over them, they dedicated all their free time to preparing for it, arming themselves with earth-type weapons, discussing tactics and formations to use, and studying on the type of monsters that were to appear.

The rules of the Guild Wars were surprisingly simple.  The first day was a preliminary round where all the participating crews would battle all day to gain points, or "honor" as the competition called it.  After a short break, crews would be split into four different teams and then would participate in one-on-one battles against other crews on different teams for the next handful of days.  These one-on-one battles called for teams to compete to see who would get the most honor.

With this in mind, Dia figured that a system needed to be in place to get the maximum amount of points.  While Kanan worked on formations and strategies with the crew, her and Hanamaru focused on developing this system.  Since it was their first Guild Wars, they didn't quite know how effective it would be, but that's what the preliminary round would be used for.

Surprisingly, the preliminary rounds were a lot easier than expected.  Even with a few adjustments and changes here and there, Azalea was able to coordinate and became quite effective at maximizing the amount of points they could get in the short time period.  They were moved into another group, called Southland, and faced off against those in Northland.  After the first handful days of finals, they were becoming used to the constant brawls and the monsters that they had to summon to receive the maximum amount of points.

"That's strange, shouldn't we have seen the next crew by now?"

Kanan asks as the crew gathers in the forest of the island.  "They still haven't showed up and we've started the next round already."  She glances around, feeling like someone or something is watching them.  Dia waves her off as they're setting up to summon the creature they will be fighting.

"We shouldn't worry about things like that.  It's their own fault for not being diligent."  She brushes herself off as the crew is slowly spreading apart into their formations.  "This one should be the toughest one we've faced yet.  We are going to use a more evasive method this time.  Once the evasion team gets tired, defense will come to stand their ground and then we will defeat it as normally."  She shouts her orders to the rest, receiving a cheer and affirmation in response.

She feels a clasp on her shoulder, and glances to her side, blinking at Kanan.  "What?"

"Nothing really.  I was just happy to see you more energetic.  I probably have to thank Mari for that later."  Kanan is off before Dia could demand to know what she meant.

What did Mari have anything to do with her?  She scowls as she shouts at her crew one last time.  "Ready yourselves, I'm going to summon the creature!"

As Dia places the last bait that is used to summon the creature and pours an elixir from a red bottle, the ground starts to shake.  She quickly gets to the backline of her crew as the ground she was just on sinks and creates a large crater-like hole.  From the hole, eight large tentacle-like arms emerge before the main body--an octopus pulls itself out.  The arms crashes and slams against the earth, approaching Dia's crew quickly to attack.

 

* * *

 

With the amount of ruckus on the island, it wasn't hard to figure out that the crew that they are facing must have summoned the hardest monster.  The Guilty Kiss crew, even though they were new to the Guild Wars events, are becoming one of the 'well-known' crews who could score high in whichever group they were put in.  In their last event, a light-type of event, they were the top-ranking crew in the finals because they had two key members who could easily wipe the hardest monster without breaking a sweat.  So, there is a bit of pride at stake to continue to do well.

Mari leans against the edge of their airship, smiling a little as she is watching the current battle that is happening in the forest with Riko.  "Ah, that's so Dia-like to take a battle into the forest." Her eyes are lingering on the raven-haired captain but is watching the entire Azalea crew fight against the octopus creature.  "What do you think of it, Riko?"

She looks over to the side, blinking before laughing as she watches Riko--who is furiously writing notes down in her notebook.  "Riko?"

"Shh, Mari-san, I haven't seen such impressive formation before." Riko is quick to shush her captain, observing the battle with a critical eye and writing what she notices.  "The way she uses the trees and bushes as well, it's as if she picked this on purpose."

The blonde captain laughs once more, settling her chin against her palm and continues to watch--somehow her eyes always lingering on Dia.  "It's always been like that.  She's always had a keen eye for preparation and always tried to use the environment to her advantage." Her tone is light and airy, almost with an edge of fondness to it.  She can't help but feel nostalgic, remembering all the times that her, Kanan, and Dia would fight together.

A somewhat bitter smile edges on her lips, oh how she missed those times, the ones where they spend the day training together on Auguste Isles, the ones where they would bicker and argue over trivial things...

Oh, how she missed them so much.

How she missed Dia so much.

"Mari-san?"

The blonde is taken out of her thoughts, Riko is staring at her, worry in her brown eyes.  "Is something the matter?  You usually don't space out like that."

"... Nah, was just thinking about something." She winks a little as she stretches out.  "Can't get distracted when our time is coming up soon."

"Mari!  Lily!" A voice calls from the beach below.  Yoshiko is standing there with some of the other darkly garbed crew members.  She gestures to a container next to her.  "We got the goods!  It's time to summon the dark forces to the human world!"

Mari taps Riko's shoulder gently, grinning.  "Let's go, can't leave Yohane waiting for us~ Who knows what crazy things she'll do with all the materials."

 

* * *

 

The fight against the giant octopus was long and drawn out.  The Azalea crew managed to be victorious, but they had to expend a lot more resources than they estimated.  The entire crew is worn out and covered in water and ink from the battle.  Dia is handing out potions, berries, and towels to everyone as the healers also went around to deal with the physical wounds that were taken from the fight.

"Good job, Kanan-san." Dia hands a towel to Kanan, who thanks her as she takes it and immediately starts to unclip the first layer of her armor.  "Thanks, you had a really good plan out there, it just took a lot longer for us to execute the defense formation.  Especially after that ink hit us."

"I'll have to fix it for our next fight.  It may even be more efficient to summon an easier one to deal with." She muses, scowling a little as Kanan is wiping the ink that managed to get under her armor.  "Kanan-san could you at least wait until you were in a private place to do that?  Anyone could watch."

Kanan raises a brow, tossing the towel back in Dia's face with a laugh as she slides her layer of armor back on.  "Don't complain because my armor 'reveals too much skin'.  It's comfortable and easy to move around in.  It protects what it needs to."

The Azalea captain mutters underneath her breath, plotting to make You change Kanan's armor when they returned to Auguste Isles since it was her doing in the first place.  She crumples the towel as it spreads on her face, about to move on until there was a sudden weight on her back and a "I'm tired zuraaaa..." from her shoulder.

"Hanamaru-san." Hanamaru doesn't budge.  She is exhausted from the battle and from helping the others out.  Dia chuckles quietly, gently rubbing the brunette's forehead.  Sometimes it felt like having Ruby around.  "Good work."

"Mmm, thanks zura."

Kanan leaps back to her feet as she taps Hanamaru's head.  "C'mon Maru-chan, I'll carry you back to the ship."  She bends down next to Dia and Hanamaru doesn't waste any time climbing onto Kanan's back.  Kanan stands back up as Hanamaru is settled.  "We'll head back first."

"That's fine, I will make sure everyone can make their way back."

Dia stands up, nodding as Kanan and Hanamaru head back to the airship.  She talks to the remaining crew members as the healers are finishing up as well.  As they are all about head back, a loud crash is heard from the beach.  Dia narrows her eyes, it must be the other crew that they are competing against.  She orders a handful of her crew members to stick with her and the others to go back and get some rest.

As she steps through the foliage, she gets a clear view of a certain crew that she didn't expect to run into.  Her eyes widen as she can hear Mari shouting orders to the rest of her crew members, who are in a rather protective formation around her and Yoshiko.  She and the rest of her crew members watch silently as the battle carries out.

The first thing Dia notices is that the attacks from the octopus seem to bounce off Mari's crew members.  When it does hit, the attack doesn't push them back like how it does for Dia's crew.  She can't help but feel that Mari's crew was a lot stronger than hers.  Her eyes catch Riko in the back, commanding some magic that holds the octopus back and occasional the wisps of magic surrounding her crew members.

She realizes that Riko is a supportive mage--not in the sense like Hanamaru who can heal, but as someone who can bring certain ailments to the monsters and use it to help her crew members.  If Mari chose Riko, it was a very smart decision.

On the other hand, it feels like the octopus is not wearing down, so it seems that they don't attack the octopus as much...  But then why a defensive formation?  Are they hoping to hold out until the octopus gets tired?

There are too many unanswered variables.  She needs more time to figure it out.

"Mari, let's do this!"

"Right!  Spread out!"

The formation change is sudden and abrupt as the crew spreads out according to Mari's orders.  The only two people that remain in front of the octopus is Mari and Yoshiko.  She watches Mari close her eyes and draw her gun up, pointing right at the octopus.

_"I of the descended ones call upon the powers that churns upon the heavens and the earth..."_

Her eyes widen as she watches in silent amazement as the air seems to tense and spell circles start to cover the surface of the beach.

_"As a user of the catastrophic elements I command thee..."_

Dia swallows as she looks back and forth between Mari and Yoshiko, a large star-like shape forming underneath them that crackles with magical energy.  She feels goosebumps form on her arm as the both of them are exchanging chants.

_"...Amalgamate our powers as one and plummet thy soul into the endless fire of the abyss..."_

A massive dark energy builds at the barrel of Mari's gun, before it sets off at the next word that seems like a whisper against Mari's lips.

_"Supernova."_

The entire ground is shaking and the crackle of energy that explodes in the air makes everyone including Dia take to the ground to cover their ears as the attack hits the octopus from the front.  Due to the explosion, smoke surrounds the area and it's hard to see anything.

_"Let's go!"_

Mari's voice rings throughout the covered air and Dia can hear weapons being drawn and loud cries as the battlefield became much livelier and more active.  She opens her eyes to see what had happened until she hears one of her crew members hiss, "Captain!  Look!"

She turns her head and her eyes widen in horror as there is a new set of tentacle-like arms that hurl the main body of the octopus out of the hole and starts slowly crawling to where Mari's crew is finishing with the other one.  She glances around, seeing something or someone run off.

Dia's mind is frantic, she's not the only one as she can even hear the frenzy whispers of her crew members around her--something wasn't right.  She snaps her gaze back to Mari's crew--none of them noticing a second octopus coming right at them.  She grits her teeth, this wasn't looking good, especially if they're still dealing with the original.

A certain memory from two years ago hits her, and Dia bites her lip.  It looks like this will be a good time to bring back an old plan.  She turns to her crew members, her eyes giving off a very familiar look that they are all comfortable with.  When Dia had a plan, they knew they had to listen carefully and follow the orders exactly as she says.

 

* * *

 

Mari can't help but grin, every time her and Yoshiko did a combine attack, it made her feel _powerful._   It was something that the two of them developed back in Mysteria Academy.  They always strived for something greater, for something even better, and that's why they were essentially the 'aces' of the Guilty Kiss crew.  The others are now cleaning up the octopus as Mari and Yoshiko's part is finished.

"Yohane, _good job_!" Mari cheers as she jogs to where Yoshiko is standing up, somewhat panting from the extraneous use of the magic.  Yoshiko glances back, giving her the normal 'three fingers that cover her face' pose.  "Magnificent as always.  I can always expect a vessel of the dark one to be able to handle my endless energy."

Mari, honestly, didn't understand Yoshiko sometimes but she knew she was complimenting her.  She blinks as she can feel more rumbling from elsewhere.  That's odd, did Dia's crew already start fighting their next monster?  She turns around, and a sharp gasp passes through her lips as another octopus looms over her.

She sees the octopus arms thrashing about before crashing down on her and an unsuspecting Yoshiko.  "Yoshiko!" Mari cries out, pushing the other mage away as she dives backwards herself to avoid being crushed.  She coughs heavily, a stinging pain from behind at her rough tumble.  She can barely hear Yoshiko's outburst of 'what the hell?!' as she scrambles to get back up.

"Mari-chan, Yoshiko-chan what's--eeep!" Riko is coming over to them when she hears the commotion but is easily targeted and batted away by an angry arm.  "Lily!" Yoshiko's cries can be heard over the uproar and she tries to make her way over to her through the rampage of the new octopus.

Mari shoots her gun, deflecting one of the arms away from Yoshiko and Riko, before staring up at the menace itself.  Its attention seems to be focused on her and she dives to the side as more of the arms start to trash about in her direction.  She rolls and tumbles, evading each arm by mere centimetres.  She takes shots here and there, getting arms away from her but her body is sluggish--especially after pooling her magic with Yoshiko's.

She takes one shot but misses just slightly and her eyes widen as the arm moves quickly to smash her into the ground.

An arrow whizzes right through the air, striking the incoming arm and forcing it backwards.  The octopus doesn't give up, tossing another one of it's eight arms at Mari, and she's quick to conjure her magic to shoot at the octopus, which skims the arm and it's still set to hit her--

Except the arm collapses to the ground as a large, scorching flame fills the spot that Mari's magic just missed.  There's only one person who knew exactly how to cover and hit whatever she missed--

"Honestly, some things never change with you."

Dia slides right in from underneath a falling arm, hopping quickly back to her feet as she stands next to Mari, her bow poised and an arrow ready at any second.  The blonde is gawking, staring as if it was their first meeting.  "... Dia..."

When their eyes meet, Mari can tell that Dia means no malice, her eyes glinting with relief.  She can't help but stare a little.

Dia is quick to push her out of her reverie.  "Hurry up and go check on your crew members." She shoves her body with her shoulder, gesturing with her head to where Riko and Yoshiko are recovering.  Mari blinks, looking at the octopus that's looming over once more.  "But you can't--"

"Don't argue with me!"

There's a wave of nostalgia between the two, and Mari suddenly feels panicked.  That is the last thing she wants to see again--Dia knocking right on death’s door.  Dia on the other hand, narrows her eyes as she rolls to the side, pushing Mari once more and avoids the arms swinging wildly across.  "Hurry up!  We need you and your crew's help to kill this octopus!"

At the mention of _we_ , Mari glances over at the entire field now--spotting a couple of others who are distracting and pulling the monster's attention away.  She realized that Dia had been looking at the 'big picture' this entire time.  She scrambles up to her feet, staring at Dia with a serious look in her eyes.  "I _trust_ you, Dia.  You better not be dying when I see you again!"

Dia snorts a little as she turns her attention back to the monster that's looming over her, drawing up her bow.  There was a big difference from how she was back then until now, and she was going to show that.

 

* * *

 

When the octopus collapses to the ground and slowly dematerializes into the air, everyone surrounding it remains tense until the very last part of the octopus is gone.  There's not a single cheer heard, just sighs of relief as various of crew members from both Guilty Kiss and Azalea exchange satisfied smiles.

Dia's shoulders slump as she lowers her bow, satisfied with her performance against a formidable foe.  She hears her name being called and as she turns around she lets out a yelp as she is dragged to the ground by a certain blonde.  She groans as they both tumble down onto the soft, sandy shores of the beach.  Mari has her arms tightly around her neck and is mumbling something about how she's an idiot and has never changed in the last two years--something like that, Dia can't quite hear.

She just groans trying to shove Mari off her.  "Mari-san!  It's rude to not even say these things to my face!"

"No!  No!  I'm not letting you go anymore!"  Mari protests loudly, as she finally looks down at Dia.  "Why do you always come up with these plans that center around you almost dying?!"

Dia's eyes flicker slightly as she tries to read Mari's emotions now.  She doesn't understand--wasn't Mari the one just about to die?  All she did was think of the quickest and most efficient way to save her!  But from the anguish written all over Mari's face, it was like _she_ was dying.

"I simply came up with the best strategy to make sure you were safe." She tries to reason, but Mari frowns.  "Well, your strategy _sucks_!"

"Excuse me?!"

"No more!"

Mari brings herself closer to Dia, curling herself around Dia's still and tense body, digging her head into the nap of her neck.  "I... I just don't want you to hurt yourself for my sake."

Listening to Mari's pleas, Dia gently bites the bottom of her own lip, trying to think of something to say.  She can't exactly come up with an answer for her reasons--her emotions are hard to put into words.  She moves her hand around, feeling for Mari's hand and gently entwining their fingers together.  She squeezes it.   "What's gotten into you?"

"Mmm.  I'm tired and you're an idiot."

Mari mutters against her shoulder, sliding herself ever so closer, making herself comfortable next to Dia.  Dia steals a glance next to her, seeing Mari with her eyes close and settling down.  "You're acting like a child."

The blonde just grunts in response, tugging her shoulder to herself and using it as a pillow.  "No more talking."

"You can't be serious, Mari-san.  You're not sleeping out here."

"Shush."

Dia grumbles as she turns her head towards the sky.  The battle has taken its toll on not just Mari, but herself as well.  Her body relaxes underneath the warm sun and the soft grainy sands of the beach... Was she always this exhausted?

Her eyes droop a little as she listens to the waves crashing against the beach silently and the still, calming breaths coming from Mari. 

Five minutes, she is only going to allow five minutes.

...

"Dia!  Mari!"

Kanan started to worry when Dia and a few other members of the Azalea crew didn't come back after a while.  Her worries were answered and escalated into fear when the scout that came back reported of the second octopus that attacked Mari's crew unexpectedly.  It stepped up to terror when she learned that Dia went in with just a couple of other members to help.

She nearly took off on her own except Hanamaru held her back, lecturing her that she would be useless on her own and those who were able to still fight joined in Kanan's rush to support those who were battling again.

Sometimes Hanamaru took too much after Dia, Kanan had thought before she and a small group went to back-up the two crews still fighting.

When they reached the beach, however, there was a strange sense of tranquility and peace.  Except there were scattered bodies of crew members from both sides across the beach, tired, exhausted, and battered from two fights.  She found Dia and Mari further away, surrounded by two members from Mari's crew--Yoshiko and Riko.

She jogs over, assuming the worst.  She's ready to do anything she can to help with any of their injuries, even if it meant giving up what little mana she had.

... Except that was far from the case.

"Oh, Kanan-san." Riko greets Kanan quietly and Yoshiko immediately 'shhs' the both of them, bringing a finger to her lips.  Kanan blinks in confusion before she looks over the two, and her shoulders droop and the worry starts to disappear as she knows now, her best friends are safe and sound asleep.

Oh, how she was going to give them a mouthful later for almost giving her a heart attack.

She taps both Yoshiko and Riko's shoulder, gesturing for them to follow her.  She winks, "Let's leave these two alone for a bit, you don't want to abruptly wake up the strongest fire mage from our village."

 

* * *

 

There was a private meeting between the captains of all the crews that experienced issues during the Guild Wars event.  It wasn't just Mari's and Dia's crew, but others from all over that had an abrupt summoning take place during a battle.  No one had any idea who was doing it, but the only conclusion that could be drawn from all the observations that took place was that it had to at least be a group.

Everyone agreed to keep the situation under the table and to keep in close contact in case any information or clues is found.

Dia and Mari leave Siero's KnickKnack Shack together, exhausted from the long and arduous meeting that they had to endure.  Mari gently grabs Dia's arm as Dia is making her way back to the docks where her crew is staying.  She blinks, "Mari-san?"

"I know a nice spot just off the path here where you can see the stars.  Let's go together~"

She drags her away, Dia protesting lightly but allows herself to be whisked away.

 

* * *

 

In normal circumstances, it was harder to see the stars in Port Breeze because of the hustle and bustle in the night.  Even though the marketplace is closed for the day, there is still a night life in the city and there is always light on due to airships still flying in and out even during the night.

Mari knew a nice place, away from the busy streets and the raucous crowds of skyfarers, that is like their home back in Auguste Isles.

"You think the Empire is behind the situation in the Guild Wars event?"

Under the stretched-out night sky, Mari and Dia are still chatting quietly about the events that took place.  Dia shifts around, pulling out a torn cloth from underneath her sleeve.  Embroidered on the cloth is the symbol of the Erste Empire.  It was found by one of her crew members who searched the island for the mysterious individual while the battle took place.

Mari frowns, "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I... can't exactly trust them.  Not right now at least."  Dia says cautiously.  "It's still a very delicate issue.  This could be anything, but it's the only lead I have so far."

Mari goes silent as she stares up at the sky, then back down to Dia.  "Dia... You're not honestly going to go against the Empire, are you?"

Dia goes silent, glancing downwards to the grass that tickles their boots.  She hears an exaggerate sigh from Mari, as Mari hits her gently.  "I knew your plans suck, but now you're just _crazy_."

Dia grumbles as she gently shoves Mari back in retaliation.  "I can't stand the thought of someone getting away from doing something like that to you."

"I know.  That's why we need to do this together."

This makes Dia look up at Mari, searching for any sense of jesting from her.  When Mari just matches her serious look, a warm smile is on her face as she steps closer to Dia, taking her hands in her own.  "I did say I wanted to travel the skies with you."

Dia sputters in embarrassment, her cheeks flaring up a little.  She glances away as Mari leans in and (accidentally) presses a kiss against her cheek even though she was aiming for her lips.  Dia can feel her heart starting to beat wildly at their proximity and the light touch. 

Mari, on the other hand, whines, "Dia, you ruined the romantic moment!" 

"T-T-This is ro-romantic?!  M-Mari-san I-I would r-rather have something like that in our private quarters!" Dia is trying to stop herself from drowning in her embarrassment and emotions, but Mari keeps pouncing on her, with her cat-like grin and all.

"Oho?  Is that an invite to your bed, Dia?...~"

"B-Bed?!  H-Heavens, n-no!"

Mari is laughing as Dia is squirming in her hold now.  The blonde is relentless, if Dia is going to play dumb with her she just had to hit her face on.  She unclasps their hands and brings hers up to press gently against Dia's jawline, forcing the raven-haired captain to look at her.

"I think this is private enough as it is~"

She leans forward, this time not missing her mark.

The kiss lasts for only a few seconds, Mari pulling away, so she wouldn't be accidentally set on fire.  She grins at the complete redness on Dia's face.  "Do you get it now, you dense fire mage.  I love you.  I always have."

There's an incoherent mumble from Dia, and Mari leans forward, stretching her ear out playfully.  "What was that?  I can't hear you~"

"I-I-I said that if you're coming, then I'm demoting you to second-in-command!"

Mari's grin widens, oh Dia, she just sets this up so easily for her.  "That's fine!  As long as I can be _captain_ in other places."  She draws Dia back in arms again, Dia is going to drown in her own flames first before she even has a chance to try and kill her.

"M-M-Mari-san!  You're so shameless!  No wonder why your crew is called _Guilty Kiss_!"  Dia tries to look everywhere but at Mari, but the small affectionate rubs from the blonde made it hard.

"Hey! I resent that, Guilty Kiss is a great name!"

"It's indecent!"

They continued their bickering throughout the night, content with being in each other's arms, the danger that just passed them absent from their minds.

After all, it is just the start of their journey, together.


End file.
